IDIOMS AND SAYINGS
SPANISH IDIOM/SAYING
MEANING
ENGLISH EQUIVALENT
SPANISH EXAMPLE
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
51
Perder la chaveta
To lose your mind
To lose your marbles
Mi tío no está bien; parece que perdió la chaveta.
My uncle is not well; it seems he lost his marbles.
52
Ser un perro viejo
To have experience in something
To be an old hand
En la mecánica, mi papá es un perro viejo.
In mechanics, my dad is an old hand.
53
Meter la pata
To ruin an opportunity
To blow it
Mi novia era buena conmigo y yo metí la pata.
My girlfriend used to be nice to me and I blew it.
54
Al pie de la letra
Literally
To the letter
Sigue las instrucciones al pie de la letra.
Follow the instructions to the letter.
55
No decir ni pío
Not to say anything
Not to breath a word.
Ella no para de hablar pero hoy no dijo ni pío.
She never stops talking but today she didn't breath a word.
56
to dismiss someone in a bad way.
To send someone packing
Estaba cansada de él así es que lo mandé a la porra. I was tired of him so I sent him packing.
57
Mandar a alguien a la
porra
Dormir a pierna suelta
To sleep soundly
To sleep like a log
Ella no está cansada porque durmió a pierna suelta. She is not tired because she slept like a log.
58
59
Príncipe azul
Costar un riñon
The right man
When something is very expensive or
hard to do.
Prince charming
To cost an arm and a leg
Encontré a mi príncipe azul.
I found my prince charming.
Me costó un riñon pero finalmente logré comprar mi It cost me an arm and a leg but I was finally able to buy my car.
carro.
60
Verlo todo de color de
rosa
To be very optimistic
To see everything through rose colored
glasses
Es increíble ver como algunas personas ven todo de It's incredible to see how some people see everything through rose colored
color de rosa.
glasses
61
¡Qué sé yo!
Yo no soy su jefe. !Qué sé yo!
I'm not his boss. How should I know!
62
Sacar a alguien de sus
casillas
Gastar saliva en balde
To tell someone they can't expect you to How should I know!
know something
To make someone mad
To drive someone up the wall
Le di un puñetazo porque me sacó de mis casillas.
I punched him because he drove me up the wall
To say things vainly
To waste your breath
Ya no le digas nada, estás gastando saliva en balde.
Don't say anything to him anymore, you are wasting your breath.
Chuparle la sangre a
alguien
A otro perro con ese
hueso
Sanseacabó
To make people give your their money
willingly
To let someone know that you don't
believe something
That is the end of the story
To suck someone dry
Ella solo estaba con él para chuparle la sangre.
She was with him only to suck him dry.
Tell it to the marines
¿Le dijo que la ama? ¡A otro perro con ese hueso!
He told her he loves her? Tell it to the marines!
That's that
¡Porque yo lo digo y sanseacabó!
Because I say so and that's that!
To rant and rave
Ellos echaron sapos y culebra sobre las nuevas reglas They ranted and raved about the new rules at school.
de la escuela.
63
64
65
66
67
Echar sapos y culebras To speak or write harshly about
something
68
Dar una vuelta
To go for a ride
69
Estar por los suelos
To be in the worst of the situations
70
Dar por sentado
To assume that something is a certain way To take something for granted
Ella siempre dio por sentado la relación con su novio. She always took for granted the relationship with her boyfriend.
71
De primas a primeras
Without warning
Right off the bat
Él empezó a acusarnos de primas a primeras.
He started accusing us right off the bat.
72
Pagar por los platos
rotos
¡Ni en sueños!
Pay for consequences
To pay the piper
Un día voy a pagar por los platos rotos.
One day I'll pay the piper.
There is no chance at all
No way! Not in your dreams!
¡Ni en sueños! ¡Yo no me voy a poner eso!
No way! I am not going to wear that!
When you don't care
I could care less
Ni me va ni me viene lo que pienses de mí.
I could care less about what you think of me.
To show no surprise or emotions
He didn't even bat an eyelid
Ni se mosqueó cuando escuchó la noticia.
He didn't even bat an eyelid when he heard the news.
73
74
75
Ni le va ni le viene (a
alguien)
Ni se mosqueó
To hit rock bottom
Fuimos a dar una vuelta por el barrio.
We went for a ride around the block.
Su autoestima está por los suelos.
Her self-esteem has hit rock bottom.